Chad Ochocinco Reinvents Himself Again

He changed his last name last year. But that wasn’t the real transformation. Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco has, in a sense, reinvented himself again. And in the process, he has not only earned a new legion of fans and friends (over 250,000 Twitter followers and counting), he has also wisely positioned himself for a huge payday when his six-year, $35.5 million contract runs out after the 2011 season. That is, if the Bengals want to pay him the whopping $9.3M he’s set to make in 2011. If they don’t exercise that 2011 option, they’ll “only” have to pay him $3.5 million. And then he’ll go somewhere else where he’s sure to make a bundle on top of that because he’s not only a star on the field, he’s managed to become one off of it as well. Please, read on…

Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati Bengals / Image: Zuma Press

If you’ll recall, last year (and the year before), Chad was attempting to kick and scream his way out of Cincinnati. But when he realized he was taking the wrong path to get what he ultimately wanted, he changed his ways and became exactly the type of person employee he needed to become to achieve the kind of success he truly desired.

Utilizing social media giants Twitter and Ustream, Chad has been at the forefront of Web 2.0 player-fan relations. The guy does what no other athlete is doing. Or will probably dare to do. He advertises when and where he’s going to be—not so fans can watch him from a distance, but so they can hang out with him—whether he’s going out to dinner to celebrate a win in downtown Cincy; or flying to South Beach before a Monday Night Football game. Chad not only wants to meet his fans, he wants to break bread with them and maybe even take them to the movies. And those are just a couple examples.

Chad’s also been known to fly fans to Cincinnati for home game weekend excursions. Some might call it a little bit crazy. I call it genius. And if it’s genuine, pretty darn nice, too. I mean, when the Bengals were granted a one day extension (by the NFL) yesterday to sell 3,000 remaining tickets (thus avoiding a local television blackout), who do you think stepped to the plate to buy those tickets? You guessed it—the self-proclaimed Oprah Winfrey of the National Football League. Chad partnered with Motorola to buy up the seats that would otherwise keep area fans who aren’t at the stadium from seeing the game on local TV.

You gotta give the guy credit. While at one time appearing to be just another spoiled, crybaby, diva receiver, Chad has become exactly the kind of player the NFL will single out in promoting its best case player-fan relationships. As the league looks into the future, their continued (even increased) popularity will certainly be enhanced by players who put forth even half the public relations effort that Chad Ochocinco does.

Sources: Cincinnati.com, twitter.com/OGOchoCinco, Bengals.com, Rotoworld.com,